Olympic Brake
by DSpeedblood
Summary: Things look bad for everyone in Willoughby, but can one person change the tide of battle against the Patriots? This is the first thing I've ever published. Please review!
1. Chapter 1

ONE YEAR BEFORE THE BLACK OUT

"Gun it, Miles!"

Miles jammed the gas pedal to the floor. His finely tuned Dodge Challenger surged ahead of its opponent. Miles laughed triumphantly.

"Only two more _Miles _to the finish line!" Monroe winked at Miles. "Get it? _Miles?_"

"Hmmph." Miles ignored the tease, although he secretly wished he had come up with the clever wordplay himself.

"No way he can catch us now!" The Dodge Challenger surged ahead of its opponent. Miles laughed triumphantly again.

All of a sudden, the opponent car started gaining. "What the hell, man?" Miles asked Monroe. "You said this would be easy!"

"I know, I know, Miles. When I heard that this Dirk Speedblood guy was coming into town challenging us (he is the drift king of Toronto) I figured we could beat him easy!"

Miles jammed the gas pedal to the floor even harder. This time the Dodge Challenger did not surge ahead of its opponent. The opponent's car, a supertuned 1993 red Honda Civic, blew past Miles right before the finish line and everyone cheered!

The Honda Civic window rolled down revealing its fedora-sporting driver. "Hi, I'm Dirk Speedblood," said Dirk Speedblood. "Good race guys. You almost won, but I downshifted at the last second and used the extra torque to give my tires the extra grip to pass you. Close call, though."

"Man, losing sucks, but at least this Dirk Speedblood guy is a gracious winner!" Miles smiled. "Let's be friends. But if you want to be my friend, you have to take the challenge of the sword!"

Dirk Speedblood locked his amber eyes on Miles, and a wolf-like smile spread across his face. "I accept your challenge," said Dirk Speedblood.

Dirk Speedblood reached into the back of his Civic and pulled out _Urufu no Moru_ (it means Wolf's Fang in Japanese) and turned to face Miles. "A katana? Why not a _dirk_?" asked Bass with a smirk.

Dirk Speedblood ignored the taunt. "Do you have a sword?" Dirk Speedblood asked quizzically.

Miles popped the trunk on his Dodge Challenger and removed his military sabre. "Now," said Miles, "We duel!"

Dirk Speedblood watched as Miles paced around the pool of light cast by the headlights of their cars. Everyone watching had gone silent as they prepared to watch the duel. Miles suddenly pounced like a wolf and swung the saber at Dirk Speedblood, but was surprised when his opponent blocked his blow with a single swing of the katana. Miles recovered quickly and made a chop at Dirk Speedblood's legs, but his opponent once again surprised him by easily jumping over the blade and counterattacking with a thrust that Miles only just avoided. "That was a good start," said Dirk Speedblood, "But do you have what it takes to beat a true sword man?"

The two fighters circled each other like Alpha wolves looking for weaknesses. Miles knew his only chance to win the duel would be to use his ultimate technique. He backed away while facing Dirk Speedblood. Dirk Speedblood could tell what he was going to do and did the same and put _Urufu no Moru _back in its sheath. Suddenly they ran towards each other. "What is Dirk Speedblood doing?!" cried Monroe, "He has his katana sheathed! There's no way he can win now!"

At the last possible moment, Dirk Speedblood drew _Urufu no Moru_ and swung it towards Miles, who was swinging his saber towards Dirk Speedblood at the same moment. The two blades collided but _Urufu no Moru_ shattered the sabre like a piece of ice, and chunks of the broken saber flew and hit Dirk Speedblood in the face. But Dirk Speedblood had his sword at Miles's throat. "If this were a real fight, you would be dead," he said. "You're not bad, but a sabre isn't really your style. Why don't you try duel-wielding machetes?"

Miles was about to say something, but suddenly someone in the crowd yelled, "The police are coming! Everyone run!"

Dirk Speedblood knew he could take on the police, but he didn't want to. As he was walking back to his car, he felt blood running down his check and touched his face. The broken chunks of Miles's sword had cut his face badly, but he hadn't felt it in the heat of the moment. "This isn't over Miles!" he yelled at the Challenger's taillights as the Dodge peeled out. "We'll settle this later!"

Dirk Speedblood quickly drove off in the opposite direction, easily avoiding the twenty police cars that had been sent to the scene of the race and duel. Meanwhile, Miles drove himself and Monroe back to their house. Once he got the car in the garage, Miles turned the key to his Dodge Challenger and turned the lights off, foreshadowing what would happen to the world in just a year's time…

AFTER THE BLACK OUT

"Man, no power sucks," said Miles. He sat on a hill and threw a rock, because there was nothing else to do.

"I know, Miles, and since we no longer have an army, we no longer have that kind of _power_ either!" Monroe quipped.

All of a sudden, the roar of a car engine echoed in the distance. Miles and Monroe looked.

"Can it be? But there is no power!" Miles exclaimed.

But sure enough, a supertuned 1993 Honda Civic drove up the hill and stopped in front of Miles and Monroe. The window rolled down and they saw a mysterious yellow-eyed man with a scar shaped like a backwards L on his face. "Hey guys, it's me, Dirk Speedblood!" He rolled up his sleeve and showed off his own personal brand, kind of like Monroe's, to prove it. "And you and I have a score to settle Miles! You ruined my face!"

As Miles and Dirk Speedblood got into battle stances, Monroe grinned and said "Then I think it's time for a _face_ off!"

To Be Continued in Chapter 2...


	2. Chapter 2

"3… 2… 1… Fight!" Monroe raised his hands in the air, signaling the start of the battle.

Dirk Speedblood charged at Miles, _Urofu no Moru _drawn. He let out a wolf-like roar and swung his blade. "Miles, this is for my face!"

Miles simply stood with a smirk on his face. He twirled his machetes around his fingers and slid them back into their holsters.

"What are you doing, Miles?!" Monroe asked concernedly. "He's attacking! Don't you remember last time!"

"Don't worry Bass, I got this." Miles grinned even wider. As Dirk Speedblood's blade came swinging for his neck, Miles batted the blade away with a closed fist, and with his other hand he punched Dirk Speedblood right in the scar on his face.

Dirk Speedblood halted, astonished. Miles had batted away his strongest attack like it was nothing. "Rarararrrrgh!" Dirk Speedblood kept the momentum of his blade and made a spinning slice attack. Miles effortlessly stepped backward out of the attack's range, and _Urofu no Moru _caught nothing but air. Dirk Speedblood lost his balance and fell to the ground.

"Now, Dirk Speedblood, are you ready to give up? And while you're at it, can you tell me why your car is still running even in this world of no power?" Miles offered a friendly hand to Dirk Speedblood, wanting to help him stand up.

Dirk Speedblood lashed out with his blade, and Miles drew his hand back. "Never, Miles! You ruined my dream!"

"What do you mean?" Miles said, but Dirk Speedblood was already on his feet charging again.

"My dreaaaaaaaammmmmsssss!" Dirk Speedblood ran at Miles with his blade pointing straight forward. His fighter aura was really big, and Miles could feel the potential within Dirk Speedblood, but it was unrefined.

"Really?" Miles looked unhappy. He blocked Dirk Speedblood's sword attack with the brass knuckle hilt of one of his machetes. Time slowed down as Dirk Speedblood saw Miles's other hand, unblocked, coming down. Dirk Speedblood did not have enough time to react, and Miles's other machete chopped off both of Dirk Speedblood's hands at the wrist.

"Aaarghhh!" Dirk Speedblood tried to grab the stumps of his hands to stop the profuse bleeding, but he couldn't because he no longer had any hands to grab with. "This really hurts!"

"Damn, guess I went a little overboard." Miles looked a little bit embarrassed.

Monroe walked up and took a closer look. "Wow, I thought this was going to be a _face_ off between you two, but I guess it ended up being more of a _hand_ off. Dirk Speedblood, you should have accepted the _hand _my good buddy Miles offered you in friendship earlier!"

Dirk Speedblood rubbed his stumps in the dirt to stop the bleeding. It worked a little bit, but he would need to see a doctor soon or there would be trouble.

"Miles, let's get out of here and take his car." Monroe said. "I don't think his car is set up for _hands free_ usage." Monroe hopped in the 1993 red Civic.

"Hold on Bass. I saw that Dirk Speedblood has potential. Remember how good he was all those years ago? I feel that he could be a good tool to have on our side."

Dirk Speedblood stood up. "It will be difficult without hands, but I am sure we can find a way to make it work. Please take me to a doctor first, though."

"Ok," said Miles. Miles and Dirk Speedblood got into the car. "Let's go find Rachel, her dad, and Charlie. Rachel's dad can heal your injuries."

As Miles drove the car toward Willoughby, Dirk Speedblood smiled despite the pain. He had paid a high price, but now he was right where he wanted to be.

Author's Note: Hello again! It took me a while to write this one because I wanted to do it right! I do read reviews and some guy said that maybe Dirk Speedblood is a Mary Sue. I didn't know what that was so I looked it up and I found this TVTropes site that dialed me in. A character like that just sounds terrible, so I wanted to be sure Dirk Speedblood wasn't like that! I just wanted to start by introducing the most awesome parts of Dirk Speedblood. He definitely has many flaws and weaknesses like you can see in this chapter! Also I know that Miles has gotten even more awesome at everything after the black out (the first chapter mostly took place before it), so there is nothing to fear about a Mary Sue Speedblood (unless he has a secret sister named Mary Sue, hahaha!). So please keep reading and keep reviewing!


	3. Chapter 3

"Whoa, it's Dirk Speedblood!" Charlie jumped up and ran to the Honda Civic.

"You know this guy?" Miles crossed his arms threateningly.

"I went to school with him before the black out!" Charlie said. "It is good to see you, Dirk Speedblood! But why do you not have hands?"

"Long story," said Dirk Speedblood. "I hear your grandpa is a doctor?"

Jean stepped out of the house. "What's this I hear about someone with no hands?" He saw Dirk Speedblood's hands and raised an eyebrow. "Let's get you fixed up, son."

Jean smeared some cream on the stumps of Dirk Speedblood's hands. "This should help. But you should really rest for a while. Losing your hands is a big deal. Not just one, but both!"

Monroe chimed in. "No can do. We're going to a fight with the Patriots, and we need all _hands _on deck!"

Charlie looked sad and pointed at Monroe. "But what help can Dirk Speedblood be to you? He has no hands!"

Miles raised his left hand. "Remember I fought the Patriots when I had an injured hand. It was hard, but you just have to suck it up. If you don't, you're a dick."

Dirk Speedblood looked around. "Who else is here?" he asked.

"Rachel is out collecting ammo. The Neville family is scheming somewhere. Connor is around here somewhere."

A horrified scream came from the near distance! "What is this devil beast?" a voice said.

"That's Connor's voice!" Charlie shouted. "It sounds like he's in trouble!"

Everyone ran to the sound of the scream. They found Connor crouching afraid near the Honda Civic.

"It's a moooonnnnnstttteeerrr!" Connor freaked out and pointed at the car.

"Dumbass." Miles facepalmed. "It's a car."

"A car?" Connor asked. "One of those electric chariots you told me about?"

"Close enough." Miles facepalmed again.

Some Patriot soldiers, drawn by the sound of Connor's scream, came running over the hill!

"Saddle up, guys, it's time for a fight!" Charlie pulled out her crossbow and shot the first of the Patriot soldiers with it.

Dirk Speedblood looked down where his hands should be. "But what will I do? I have no hands."

Miles shot him an angry look. "Hands are overrated," said Miles as he charged at the Patriots and slashed two of them with his machetes.

"Very funny Miles." Dirk Speedblood ran at a Patriot soldier and tried punching him with the stump of his hand, but it didn't do anything.

The soldier raised his gun to shoot, but Monroe threw a machete that flew through the air and stabbed the Patriot in the chest.

"I have some _handy_ advice for you," said Monroe. "Use your weakness to your advantage. I don't have any _dirks_, but this sword may be useful." He strapped _Urofo no Moru _onto Dirk Speedblood where his hand should have been.

Dirk Speedblood looked down at his new weapon. "Because my hand is gone, my arm is a little bit lighter, so I can swing it faster!"

A Patriot soldier was running at Dirk Speedblood, bayonet pointed straight forward. "Hrrrrghhh!" Dirk Speedblood slashed through the air. The blade chopped the Patriot's gun in half.

"You wouldn't have been able to do that if you had your hand. Now do you have a _hand_le on things?" Monroe winked. He emphasized the "hand" part of the word handle. Monroe was a witty guy.

"I'm ready!" Dirk Speedblood ran at the Patriot soldiers and chopped with his sword. By the time the dust had settled, Miles had taken down 20 Patriots, Monroe had taken down 12, Charlie had taken down 7, and Dirk Speedblood had taken down 6.

"Good job, kid," said Miles. "Keep it up and one day you can be good at this whole fighting thing."

Dirk Speedblood felt his scar itch. That usually meant more danger was near. "Guys, let's get back to the house and see what's happening."

When they got back to the house, they found Tom Neville getting ready to light a match for the fuse of some TNT he had placed next to Dirk Speedblood's Civic.

Monroe broke the silence with a comment. "I have no clue how we're going to _defuse_ this situation!"

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I'm back everybody! I've been getting more hours at work (LOL D00d I'm 22 not 14) so I have less time to write. It's awesome seeing all the new comments! This chapter should prove to all the haters that Dirk Speedblood is not a Mary Sue. And Femdar, I would love to see a picture of Dirk Speedcat.


	4. Chapter 4

Neville suddenly pulled an Uzi out and began to shoot. "Look out everyone!" shouted Rachel.

"What are you doing, you ass?" asked Miles.

"I've got to kill Monroe!" yelled Neville. "Nothing personal, Miles. This is for Julia."

Some of the bullets hit the men that Duncan had given Charlie and they all died. Miles was able to use his machete to knock the bullets away before they hit him or Rachel or Monroe or Jean. But Miles wasn't standing close enough to Charlie and there was a bullet going right for her!

"CHAAAAAAAARLIEEEEEEEEEEEE!" screamed Dirk Speedblood as he swung his left arm stump at the bullet.

The bullet hit him in the stump. It hurt a lot, but Charlie was safe. "You saved me, Dirk Speedblood!" whispered Charlie.

Neville was out of bullets, so he couldn't keep shooting. "Is this a party?" asked Monroe, "Because everyone needs to _get down_!"

The fuse on the TNT had reached its end, and the car exploded, killing the Nevilles. But everyone else had taken Monroe's clever advice and had taken cover on the ground.

"Well," said Miles as he stood up, "I guess that's two fewer douchebags we have to deal with. Are you OK Dirk Speedblood?"

Once again Miles could see that Dirk Speedblood had a powerful fighting aura, but he wasn't nearly on Miles's level yet. Blood was starting to come out of the stump where the bullet had hit him. "I think Jean will have to fix it again," said Dirk Speedblood.

Jean sighed. "I'm going to have to patch you up again," he said. "Let's get this over with."

Jean put more cream on the wound and wrapped a new bandage around the stump. "It's too bad about your car, kid," said Miles as Jean was finishing up.

"Don't worry," said Dirk Speedblood, "I can fix it."

"Did you take a look at his head Jean? Dirk Speedblood is talking crazy," said Miles with a roll of his eyes.

"I'm not crazy," countered Dirk Speedblood. "I can fix it, but it'll take me some time. We'll have to stay here at least another two day before we can go."

"Go? Go where?" asked Rachel.

"You saw how tough the Patriots are. I know a group of people that can help us, but we'll need to go pick up a translator first. I know just the guy. Have you ever heard of Aaron Pittman?"

Everyone exchanged glances. They all knew Aaron but didn't know that Dirk Speedblood had worked with him on a bunch of computer stuff before the black out. "We had Aaron until this idiot lost him," said Miles as he pointed at Charlie.

"Hey!" said Dirk Speedblood, "I'm sure it wasn't her fault."

"Thanks," said Charlie, blushing.

"Whatever," said Miles. "If it's going to take you some time to fix the car, I'm going into the house."

"I better get started," said Dirk Speedblood, as he walked towards the remains of his prized Civic.


	5. Chapter 5

I am Dirk Speedblood. Back in the day many people called me a Mary Sue. The black out changed everything. Now I have no hands. No car. No dreams.

"Neville blew up the car!" Charlie said to me. I looked at her and frowned. Then I started collecting pieces of the car and putting them in a pile. It was hard to do with no hands.

"Umm, I don't think that's going to work," said Miles. He picked up what looked like an exploded steering wheel and shrugged, tossing it onto the pile of parts. "If you were the same kid that beat me in a street race back in the day, maybe, but without hands, you kind of suck!"

Jean kicked at the dirt. "Is that a clutch pedal?" He bent down to look, but it was only a rock. "It's going to be hard to tell what's car and what's not!"

I (Dirk Speedblood) kept grabbing parts. "Miles, Jean, Rachel, Charlie, Monroe… sometimes you just need to believe. Things may look bad when the world has no power. It makes you feel powerless. But I know in my heart that Miles is alive and fighting, and Miles can know that Dirk Speedblood, me, is alive and fighting, too. When a car gets blown up, or your hands get cut off, or your brother gets shot by a helicopter, you just need to keep on fighting and the world will keep on fighting too. As long as you live, you can fight, and even those that no longer live are still fighting in their own kind of way. So keep on fighting."

Charlie's face turned red. "Speedy D, that was pretty inspiring! Now I remember why I used to like you so much!" I (Dirk Speedblood) blushed when Charlie called me by my old nickname.

"Ok, you convinced me." Miles shook his head. "Guys, let's believe in ourselves and help out Dirk Speedblood."

Miles and everyone else picked up anything that looked like a car part and put them into the pile. Because they actually had hands, they were able to do it a lot faster. If no one else helped, it would have taken me forever!

Monroe bent down and picked up a part and tossed it to me. It was one of the brakes. "_Olympic Brakes? _ I've never heard of that brand!"

"I got them made custom," I said to Monroe. "Actually, when I raced you guys before the black out, that inspired me to do better at life, and I went out and got these brakes right after that."

"Huh." Miles's eyes almost teared up. "Don't make me get all weepy now."

Rachel ran through the grass with a comb to get out the smallest pieces. "It looks like we've got everything," she said to me. "Now what?"

I saw the sparkle of fireflies coming over the hill. I gestured with my left stump. "That's what."

Rachel's jaw dropped. "The NANO? Why would that help us?"

The glowing fireflies heaped onto the pile of parts, and the car slowly changed shape until it was a fully tuned 1993 red Honda Civic again.

"It helped us because we believed in ourselves," I told her. "The nanotechnology is kind of like a person, but a weird computer-y one. Like any human being, it will reward you when it feels like you deserve it."

Charlie smiled at me. "I see what you were talking about earlier now. The concentrated hope was enough to summon a small miracle."

"Just don't call it a miracle if you see Aaron." Rachel scolded Charlie. "He doesn't like the nano."

All of a sudden, I felt a tingly sensation in my stumps. I looked down and saw the nano gathering around my missing hands. "Why is this happening?" I said. "I was wishing for the car to be fixed, not my hands!"

Miles slapped me on the back. "I was the one who wished for your hands. We had enough people wishing for the car. You and me have plenty more fighting to do!"

Jean stammered in disbelief! "As a doctor, I've never seen anything like that. Let me look." Jean looked at my hands. "There's something different about these!"

Sure enough, I thought about controlling my new hands, and they detached from my arms and flew through the air. "I can make them fly!" I said.

Miles grunted. "Damn, flying hands. Now that's something you don't see every day. Maybe now you wont be COMPLETELY useless in a fight!"

I called my hands back to me and they reattached to my arms. It was pretty cool.

"No time to sit and chill, guys. We need to find Aaron. He's the only one who can communicate with them!" I told the group.

"Them?" Rachel asked. "You mean the nanomachines?"

"No, someone else!" I replied. "Let's hit the road!"

Charlie ran to the passenger seat. "I got shotgun!" She hopped into the car.

"Well then, I've got _machine gun_!" said Monroe as he loaded up on assault rifles and hopped into the back seat. I got into the driver's seat, since it was my car after all. Miles, Rachel, and Jean squeezed into the back seat.

I jammed the car into 5th gear and drove off. The nano did a good job with the car, and it hummed like a work of art.

Monroe glanced at the gauges. "Wow, the nano really tuned this machine. You're getting over 5000 _Revolutions _per minute!" I checked the gauge and saw that he was right. The Honda Civic rocked off in the direction of Aaron.

Meanwhile, back where the car blew up, Tom Neville stood with binoculars watching the Civic drive off into the distance. "Jason, I think we've got ourselves a new mission…" he said forebodingly as he started to run after the Honda Civic.

Author's Note: I tried something different this time to hopefully get better as a writer. I wanted the reader to experience what it's like to be Dirk Speedblood. I also subtly bring up the Mary Sue issue from earlier. We're getting toward the end of book 1 of the Dirk Speedblood saga, thanks for following!


	6. Chapter 6

A blood red moon cast dark, ominous shadows across the surface of the flannel tent housing Miles Matheson and company. The red light from the moon reflected off the surface of the blood red 1993 Honda Civic parked outside the encampment, sitting ominously like a powerful guardian wolf. And yet the redness of the moon and the car were nothing compared to the bloody murder in Tom Neville's eyes.

"I'll kill them ALL!" Neville shouted quietly to avoid waking the sleeping campers he was sneaking up on. He drew a large knife from its scabbard on his hip and scraped it against his beard. Sure enough, the razor sharp blade took off a chunk of grimy hair. The knife would certainly be enough to put an end to Miles Matheson.

Neville pushed his way into the tent. "You killed my SON!" he muttered silently, his rage boiling over. He crept silently across the sleeping forms until he found one of the targets he was looking for. Sleeping peacefully, Dirk Speedblood looked as if he didn't have a care in the world. Neville could tell that Dirk Speedblood was dreaming of a time where cars drove fast and electricity made life wonderful. But now was time for the dream to end. Neville raised the dagger and prepared to plunge it into Dirk Speedblood's heart.

_Tap tap._ "Huh?" Neville felt a finger tap his left shoulder. Surprised, he jerked around to face whoever had surprised him.

What met him was even stranger. Neville stared in disbelief at a floating hand. The hand waved at him jokingly. Neville grabbed at his hair. Was he going insane? Suddenly, the floating hand curled into a fist. Still observing in shock, Neville stood still as the balled hand socked him in the face.

"OWW!" Neville's outburst woke all of the sleeping campers. Within seconds Miles and Monroe had torches lit and machetes drawn. Dirk Speedblood groggily rubbed his eyes with the stumps of his hands.

"Daaaamn, kid, those nano hands really pay off! Having them on guard duty sure makes it easy to have a good night's sleep!" Miles Matheson grinned. "So Tom, what brings you into our jolly company?"

Neville's eyes welled up with rage. He could only muster out one word. "JAAAAAASSSSSOOOOONNNN!" He took a swing at Miles but Miles dodged easily. "JAAASSSSSOOOONNNN!" Repeating his son's name, Neville punched again. This time Miles blocked it with the flat edge of his machete.

Dirk Speedblood stepped between Neville and Miles. "OK Mr. Neville, I get that your son died and you blame us for it, but you should really be blaming the Patriots!"

Neville blinked, his rage quenched like the ocean rolling over a fire on the beach. "You mean, Jason died because of the Patriots?"

Charlie put a hand on Neville's shoulder. "That's what we've been trying to tell you, Tom! The Patriots are the real bad guys here!"

Neville thought for a moment, and his forehead creased in furious thought. "… … …" After a few moments of silence, he spoke. "It's OK, then. I'll help you take down the Patriots."

Dirk Speedblood pumped his fist. "It's good to have you on our side, Mr. Neville!" Miles and Monroe high fived each other.

Neville's face turned beet red. "Hold on a second! The instant the Patriots are gone, we're enemies again, you hear me?"

Dirk Speedblood just laughed. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. But for now, you're one of us! Now let's go find Aaron Pittman."

Everyone went to the Civic just as the first light of day cracked over the hill, letting everyone in the group see each other clearly for the first time. It was as if a luminous veil had been lifted and the world could be seen in its ethereal purity. The joy of the moment distracted everyone from the perilous adventure ahead.

The Civic had already been overcrowded, and now there was no more room to cram anyone else in.

"Don't worry Mr. Neville, I'll get my skitch kit from under the seat. You can use that!" Dirk Speedblood opened the door and started rummaging through the stuff under his driver's seat.

"Skitch kit?" Neville rolled his eyebrows curiously.

"Yeah, skate plus hitch! You get roller blades, and you hold this rubber elastic band under the hatch, and then you can stand behind the car and roll with us all the way to Lubbock!"

Neville scrutinized the roller blades. "I don't think they're my size. I'll just ride on the roof. It'll help me keep a good lookout for the Patriots. Don't worry, I can hang on. It's not that different from riding a train."

"Your call." Dirk Speedblood hopped into the driver's seat and turned on the ignition. The 1993 Civic roared to life. Everyone crammed into or onto the car.

Dirk Speedblood drove the car to Lubbock Texas where they found Aaron Pittman and his old wife Priscilla getting ready to leave town.

"Miles, Rachel, Jean, all of you! It's so good to see you!" Aaron went around the circle and hugged each person. "And Dirk Speedblood, it's been a while! I thought for sure that Maxx had…"

Dirk Speedblood cut him off. "I'm not here to talk about Maxx, Aaron. We need your help."

Aaron frowned, with the mad expression of a crazy man slowly playing over his face. "The last time someone needed my help, they tried to trap me in my own mind and torture me, and then trick me!" He glared angrily at Priscilla, who unbeknownst to everyone else had been possessed by the nanotech.

Miles stepped forward. "Well Aaron, I really don't think you have to worry about us doing that to you."

Aaron grimaced. "But how can I know for sure? How can I know ANYTHING? What is REAL?"

Monroe put his hands up in the air. "I guess he's right. There's _no _way to _know_ for sure."

The sound of a horn reverberated through the air, followed by the thunderous beating of hoofs. "Oh no, the Patriots calvary! We're doomed for sure!" Aaron ran into the nearest building, a dilapidated shanty, and ducked into cover.

Dirk Speedblood drew Urofo no Moru from its sheath and prepared to charge. He felt a strong hand grab his shoulder and steady him.

"Wait." Miles said. "I have something to show you."

Miles led Dirk Speedblood into a nearby building. Inside, a glistening hot forge gave off star-like sparks that threatened to ignite the tense atmosphere.

"I think you're ready for the next level, kid." Miles gestured at the forge. "Lend me your blade." Dirk Speedblood obliged.

Miles dipped the katana's blade into the molten core of the forge. As he pulled it out, the blade was glowing hot. Miles set Urofo no Moru on an anvil, and ever so carefully, he used his machete to slice the katana's blade down the length of the sword. Dirk Speedblood couldn't believe the precision with which Miles operated. Miles was a true master.

When Miles finished, the single katana had been split into two ultra thin katanas! Miles handed them both to Dirk Speedblood. "You know what to do. Just be careful. They're ultra sharp, but ultra thin, so make sure you don't break them!"

"I wont let you down," replied Dirk Speedblood. He took the katanas and headed outside.

Outside he found chaos. On one side of the battlefield, Dirk Speedblood saw Monroe clothesline a Patriot off of horseback and mount the horse, charging with a primal cry into battle. Charlie reloaded her bow ever so quickly to keep pumping arrows into the Patriots horde. Jean ran around splashing rubbing alcohol onto Patriot wounds, causing them to nonviolently lose consciousness due to the disinfecting pain. Rachel fired guns from a distance, trying to shoot the guns out of the Patriots' hands. Neville struck up a conversation with a Patriot and pretended they were on the same side, when quick as lion he struck out and stabbed the guy. With a terrifying war cry, Miles leapt from the roof of the forge and smashed two Patriot riders' heads together. His machete was red hot from the forge.

"Death to you!" A Patriot rider set his sights on Dirk Speedblood and rode straight at him. Another rider came from the other direction.

Dirk Speedblood looked down at his hands. "NOW!" He shouted and detached his hands. The hands, each wielding a katana, flew off and gave serious blows to each of the attacking Patriots. Dirk Speedblood charged headlong into battle.

When the dust settled, Miles had taken down fifteen Patriots, more than anyone else even though he started late. Charlie and Monroe tied with ten. Jean and Rachel didn't kill anyone. Neville said that he hadn't killed anyone, but Dirk Speedblood knew that was a lie. Dirk Speedblood had taken down twelve Patriots, but he took them down nonlethally and was happy with the outcome.

Charlie came up to Dirk Speedblood. "Not bad, Speedy D! If not for that hideous scar on your face, you and I might have some kind of future together!" she grinned.

"I know, my scar is hideous." Dirk Speedblood said. "But I no longer blame Miles for it. I have him to thank for my hands and my katanas. The scar is a low cost to pay."

Suddenly, Aaron and Priscilla emerged from cover. "Whoa guys, that was awesome!" Aaron clapped ecstatically.

Priscilla did not look so happy. "Dirk Speedblood, I fear you are acting like a Mary Sue. There's no way someone like you should come out of nowhere and be just as good or cool as these other guys. You haven't earned it."

Dirk Speedblood nodded respectfully, because he knew it was true. When push came to shove, he didn't have the experience of the others in the group.

Priscilla started glowing with rage- actually glowing bright green like the fireflies. "Those hands aren't yours to do with as you please, Dirk Speedblood. They're still part of the nanotechnology, which means they're part of ME!" As she said that, Dirk Speedblood felt his hands lock up. Priscilla's own hands shot gouts of green flame at the party.

"My hands! They're frozen!" Dirk Speedblood complained. Rachel shot at Priscilla, but the bullets bounced right off. Monroe took a swing with his machete but the blade shattered on impact. "Dang, I'm all _broken up_ about losing one of my favorite weapons!" he said.

The flames got really close to Dirk Speedblood, when suddenly they stopped. Dirk Speedblood looked up to see why. He saw that Miles had rammed Priscilla through with his machete. Still glowing hot from the forge, the machete was strong enough to break her defense. As Dirk Speedblood watched, Priscilla vanished into a cloud of ash.

Suddenly, Dirk Speedblood's hand jerked up. Clamping open and shut as if it was speaking, the hand emitted Priscilla's voice. "Fools, I'm nanotech! You can't just make me go away, especially by stabbing. And now I tell you, Dirk Speedblood has done wrong and will be punished. **Before the Patriots fall, Dirk Speedblood will die." **The prophecy uttered, Priscilla's voice died down and Dirk Speedblood's hands returned to his control.

"Uh oh," said Rachel. "And here we just got Aaron, so we're just about to take down the Patriots once and for all. Dirk Speedblood, you don't have much time!"

Neville chimed in. "You could always flip sides and help the Patriots survive as long as possible, thus ensuring yourself a long, happy life!"

Dirk Speedblood shrugged. "Not my style."

Miles fist pumped in approval. "Good job kid. Now let's take down those Patriots."

Charlie scratched her head. "That's right! You still didn't explain why we needed Aaron!"

Dirk Speedblood looked at his friends. "Well, guys, I wasn't sure you would believe me. Lots of strange things happened after the black out, especially up near the border between Canada and the United States…"

"Spit it out already!" Jean shouted, losing his patience.

"Ok, ok." Dirk Speedblood said. "Aaron, do you still speak Elvish?"

TO BE CONTINUED

Author's Note: This was a tough chapter to write. I tried using language like some other stories I thought looked good, but I wasn't that comfortable using that kind of thing so I'm still trying to rock my own style.

You can tell I worked hard on the whole Mary Sue thing by having it come back to bite Dirk Speedblood. Everything appeared to be going so well until it wasn't, and I think that's pretty cool.

I'm not sure about the skitch thing. A Honda Civic can't really fit more than like 6 people, so I really wrote myself into a corner on that one! I almost deleted that whole part when I figured Neville would rather hang on top, but I left it in because having Aaron do that is the only way to get everyone on board. It means the car might have to go a little slower, but it'll get there.

I think this story needs another car race, too, but without another car, that's hard. I did slip in a hint at how it might, though! (Hint: Might there be someone else who also has a working car?)


	7. Chapter 7

"Igahn agaarhg adghadg Yeghas Ivergaa" Aaron Pittman called out to the elves.

The elf waved back. "ShgDGha Eesgahra agadhgal!"

Miles frowned. "Elves, seriously?"

Dirk Speedblood shrugged. "I know as much as you do. I think it has to do with Aaron really liking elves. Somehow, when the nano turned off the power, it put a forest of elves between Canada and the United States."

Monroe shook his head. "I don't know about you guys, but I could really go for some _Elvis_ music right about now."

"Greetings, friend, and welcome to our village!" the chief elf spoke as he approached the group.

"Greetings!" Dirk Speedblood addressed the elf. "Can you help us fight the Patriots?"

"Yes, I, Lord Elff and my ten thousand elf soldiers, will help you take down your enemies!"

"Score!" Charlie high fived Rachel. "Those Patriots don't stand a ghost of a chance!"

Monroe sharpened his blade. "They'll be _ghosts_ when I'm done with them. Isn't that right Miles?"

"Right on bro."

"Well, let's hit the road," Rachel's dad Gene said. So everyone got in the car (or on the car or skitching behind it) and drove to Washington DC while the elves followed on foot.

When they got to Washington DC, they found the whole Patriot army waiting in front of the White House. President Potus stood on the roof taunting them.

"So, you came here even though the prophecy said you would die. You have balls, Dirk Speedblood!" shouted President Potus at the top of his lungs. "But all the balls in the world will not protect you from my nano powers!" Glowing firefly things circled around Potus.

Charlie pointed an angry hand at Potus. "I've fought many fights that they said I couldn't win. And then I did win them. So they were wrong. Just like you are wrong!"

Potus grinned an angry grin. "Well if I'm wrong, I'd rather be wrong than dead, which is what you'll be in a few seconds. Charge!" As he said "Charge!" Potus commanded all his soldiers to charge at the good guys and their elf army.

Potus wasn't ready for how awesome the elves were. Each one of them was just like Miles. They cut through Patriot soldiers like a Dynasty Warriors video game, twirling around swinging blades fast as lightning. Miles himself stood on a pile of fallen Patriots swinging both his machetes like crazy.

Rachel and Gene Matheson formed a command post where they gave orders to the elves, telling them where to go. Neville snuck behind enemy lines and started killing high ranking Patriot officials who had considered themselves out of danger. Miles and Monroe went back-to-back and spun in a circle, wiping out a big part of the Patriot horde.

"Hey Charlie," said Dirk Speedblood. "Do you want to go back-to-back, too?"

Charlie blushed at the proposal, lowering her bow for a second. "I would normally only do it with someone I trust with all my heart, but I kind of trust you, so I guess I will. Let's take down those Patriots!"

Surrounded by Patriots, Dirk Speedblood and Charlie went back to back and spun around. Charlie kept firing arrows and Dirk Speedblood made his hands fly around with his double Urofo no Mofo slashing Patriots. Pretty soon, all of the Patriots were too injured to fight, but not dead.

"Blasphemy!" cried President Potus. "You've defeated all my troops. But remember, I have the power of the nano, and the nano can start people on fire! Plus, the prophecy said Dirk Speedblood will die today, and in some way, shape or form, that prophecy will be fulfilled! Burn!"

All of the elves started on fire, and pretty quickly, the battlefield was covered with elf-ash. "Noooooooooooo!" shouted Dirk Speedblood. "You killed Lord Elff! And all the other elves, too! They were the last of their kind, you monster!"

Potus chuckled. "With the power of the nano, I, now Dark Lord Potus, can make as many elves as I want. Though of course I will make dark elves, not this crappy kind." Potus thought for a second. "Wait a second, why didn't you burn?"

Everyone smiled except for Potus, and Rachel Matheson said something. "We knew you had the power to burn people, so before the fight we covered ourselves in diesel gas. Unlike regular gas, diesel doesn't burn, so it's the perfect counter to your burning power!"

"It is no matter," said Potus. "You will die beneath my blade all the same." And he got into a fighting stance.

"But how can we fight him?" Charlie asked. "He's up on the roof, and we're down here!"

Dirk Speedblood detached his hands and grabbed himself with them, and the flying hands hoisted him aloft. He knew from the prophecy that someone going by Dirk Speedblood would die today, but he hoped it would happen after taking down Potus. "That's how," he said as he looked down and gave a goodbye look to Charlie.

"You seem prepared to die!" said Potus. "Now die!" He ran screaming at Dirk Speedblood. Dirk Speedblood raised his katanas to block Potus's attack. When Potus's sword hit Dirk Speedblood's blades, the dual katanas started showing little cracks. Potus's sword was glowing with the power of the nano.

Rachel shouted up to Dirk Speedblood. "It's no good! He's infused with the power of the nano. You can't beat him!"

"Ha ha ha. Rachel is smart. Plus, there is one more thing you don't know!" Potus sliced again. Dirk Speedblood knew his swords couldn't take much more so he dodged backwards. Potus's sword grazed the scar on Dirk Speedblood's face, cutting open the old wound.

Neville called up from ground level. "Oh yeah? And what could that possibly be?"

"Remember how there was that prophecy about how Dirk Speedblood would die? Well, there was another prophecy!"

"I hate prophecies," said Aaron.

"Did you ever wonder why I called my army the Patriots? Well, it's because of the prophecy. As long as Potus is on American soil, he cannot be killed by one born of America!"

Charlie pouted. "Shoot, I was born in America."

"As was I!" Miles raised a frustrated fist.

All of the party gave similar murmurs of agreement. All but Dirk Speedblood.

"Ha, Potus, you made one horrible mistake. Dirk Speedblood was born of Canada!" And Dirk Speedblood dashed forward in an attack. The attack didn't break Potus's defense, but it pushed him back a step.

"Even so!" Potus swung an arcing slice that left a bloody graze on Dirk Speedblood's personal logo tattoo on his forearm. "You've got no weapon that can hurt me."

Dirk Speedblood looked at his two katanas. Both were showing cracks and wear from the beating he was taking. They didn't have much left in them.

All of a sudden, the roar of an engine cut through the air. "What the heck?" Potus turned and looked. Suddenly he was clobbered by an airborne Honda Civic. Dirk Speedblood's Honda Civic! Miles had ramped the car onto the roof of the White House.

Miles rolled out of the car, pulling out his machete. "Dirk Speedblood, do you have one last attack left in you?"

Potus struggled back to his feet. "Why…? Why can't you accept me as your leader?"

Miles and Dirk Speedblood spoke at the same time. "Because… because, it's a REVOLUTION!"

They charged at Potus, weapons drawn. Dirk Speedblood closed both his blades around the sides of Miles's machetes, and together, all the blades made one really big blade.

"Nooooooo!" Potus yelled as the combined blade smashed through his defense. The force sent him flying off the roof where he exploded into a massive fireball. Down below, everyone cheered.

But the party was short lived. The glowing fireflies from the nano started to hover around, and all of a sudden they turned into glowing, nano-powered killer bees!

Aaron shivered. "No, not the bees! It's the nano's strongest attack!"

Miles hacked through a cloud of bees with his machetes. "We can take them! Just keep fighting!"

Gene pulverized a cloud of bees with his shotgun. Charlie shot a fire arrow into a cloud of bees and they went up in flames.

"No, there's too many of them!" Monroe shouted. "Pretty soon, they'll _be_ all over us."

Monroe was right. The glowing bees came from all directions, and there was no clear way out. They wouldn't be able to fight this many bees.

Dirk Speedblood saw a Patriots train parked nearby. "Hey Miles, that yellow gas the Patriots use… That kills bees, doesn't it?"

Miles grinned. "Of course! All we have to do is puncture the tank, then get out of there before we get gassed ourselves. It'll take out all the bees!"

Dirk Speedblood hopped into the driver's seat of the Honda Civic. "Then what are we waiting for?"

Everyone crammed into the Civic and Dirk Speedblood jammed on the gas.

"You better hurry, kid! They're getting pretty close!" Miles rolled up his window just in time as a few bees splattered against it.

Dirk Speedblood pushed the car into 6th gear, reaching his top speed. "There it is! Miles, take the wheel!"

From the passenger seat, Miles grabbed the wheel, and Dirk Speedblood opened his door and rolled out of the car right by the gas tanker. Miles drove the Civic to a safe distance away. "Well, if I'm going to die, might as well go out a hero!" said Dirk Speedblood. He ripped open a valve on the tanker, and yellow gas started pouring out.

All of the bees turned to fly in the other direction, but it was too late. The bees dropped like flies, and pretty soon, they were all dead. Dirk Speedblood could see Miles and the others celebrating from a safe distance.

As the yellow gas crept closer and closer to Dirk Speedblood's face, he decided to reject his fate. "No! I will not die here, not how!" And he held his breath and started running toward his friends.

"There's no way he's going to make it!" said Aaron. "It's way too far!"

But Miles just nodded and said, "Let's see about that. I've got a theory about our friend Dirk Speedblood."

And soon enough, Dirk Speedblood got to a safe distance and took a deep breath, and everyone patted him on the back.

Gene looked insanely confused. "Did you just run a kilometer while holding your breath? No person in the world can do that."

Miles began to explain his theory, but he was interrupted by Neville grabbing Dirk Speedblood and holding a gun to his head. "I don't care about your theories, Miles. For my money, it's the nano's magic, and we need to stop it once and for all. Remember, Dirk Speedblood's hands are made of nano!"

Dirk Speedblood looked down at his hands. Neville was right. The hands opened and closed like mouths and gave crazy whispers, like the nano was getting ready to regain its power.

"See what I mean?" said Neville. "The prophecy was right. Dirk Speedblood needs to die today, or else we'll never be free of the nano, and then this Revolution was for nothing!"

Neville dragged Dirk Speedblood to a nearby building, where a big sign indicated that this was the Patriot's main weapons forge. He pulled Dirk Speedblood onto a metal catwalk above the molten metal while everyone else followed at a safe distance. Neville got ready to throw Dirk Speedblood into the red hot pool of metal.

Miles stepped forward reassuringly. "No, Tom, I don't think it's nano magic that gave Dirk Speedblood his power back there."

"What do you mean?"

"I came to realize something," Miles spoke clearly. "Gene was right, no mere person could run a kilometer while holding their breath. Or rally an army of elves to fight the Patriots. Or have a car that keeps running even after the black out. What I realized is that Dirk Speedblood is not just a person- he's an idea. And you can't kill an idea!"

Neville started shaking his head violently. "No, that can't be. He's a person, and I can kill him right now!" Neville held Dirk Speedblood over the hot metal lava.

"No," said Miles. "You can't. Because Dirk Speedblood is an idea. And that means that I can say that I am Dirk Speedblood also."

Charlie stepped forward. "And I'm Dirk Speedblood, too! If you hurt one Dirk Speedblood, you have to deal with the rest of us!"

Everyone else made similar statements and reassured Neville that they were all essentially the idea of Dirk Speedblood.

Neville's eyes bulged. "But… but… does this mean that I'm also Dirk Speedblood? That can't be!"

Aaron cried out. "Oh no, he's going to drop Dirk Speedblood!"

At the last second, Connor dove forward and knocked Dirk Speedblood back onto the safety of the catwalk but leaving himself with nothing to hold onto. As Connor fell toward the molten pool of metal, he said "Yes, I am also Dirk Speedblood, and my last act is saving another Dirk Speedblood. Just as Dirk Speedblood once saved me." Connor fell into the pool of metal with a splash, and as he sank, he gave a thumbs up, both telling everyone he was happy with his decision and making a reference to the end of Terminator 2, which was his favorite movie before the black out.

"Noooo!" Monroe ran forward and punched Neville. "You killed my bastard son, you _bastard_!"

Monroe tried to throw Neville into the pool, but Miles held him back. "We've lost enough today. No one else has to die."

Neville was shocked by Connor's sudden death, and it showed in his face. "Well, the prophecy has been fulfilled, but we still haven't solved our problem…" As if on cue, Dirk Speedblood's hands began to chatter even louder.

Miles wagged a finger at Neville. "And I've got just the answer!" He grabbed Dirk Speedblood's feet and tossed him over the railing. "You have to trust me, Dirk Speedblood!"

Dirk Speedblood thought he was about to die. He felt the heat of the metal lava below him, getting closer by the second. But at the last moment, he felt a strong hand grab his foot. Dirk Speedblood fell close to the hot liquid metal, so close that his hands got dipped in the hot substance. "Ouch! This really hurts!"

Miles pulled Dirk Speedblood back up after a few seconds. Dirk Speedblood flexed his hands. Now they were silver, completely coated in metal. But most importantly, they no longer talked. It appeared that Miles's plan had worked and sealed away the nano magic within Dirk Speedblood's hands. "There we go! All done!" Miles looked proud of himself.

Everyone was happy but Monroe. "But what about Connor?" he looked at Miles longingly. He was so upset he didn't even bother with his usual clever wordplay.

"I have an idea about that, too," said Miles. "This place wasn't always a weapons forge. Before the black out, it was something else entirely… a car factory!"

Miles pulled a few levers and hit a few buttons, and the machines whirred into motion. With the nano locked away, it seemed that power was starting to come back. Within a few seconds, the hot metal was poured into the shape of a brand new Lancer Evolution.

Monroe blinked through his tears and hopped in the driver seat. Then he noticed that the car's license plate spelled CONNOR. "Connor, is that you?" Monroe said. The car honked an affirmative.

"Wow," Rachel said. "There must have been enough residual nano magic to transfer Connor's soul into the metal itself, which is now the car. Miles, you're a genius."

Miles grinned. "All in a good day's work! Now what do you say we have a race?"

Dirk Speedblood hopped into his Civic, and everyone else hopped into the Lan Evo. But suddenly passenger-side door of the Civic opened, and Charlie hopped in! "I hope you don't mind if I ride with you…" she said and blushed.

"Not at all!" said Dirk Speedblood. "But my scar… How can you bear to look at it?"

"Well," Charlie said, "I never told you this before, but I think your scar is cool!"

Dirk Speedblood felt a surge of pride. "Then let's win this race, you and me. My Civic can take them!" And he threw the car into fourth gear and burst off the starting line. He drifted through the first corner perfectly, but Monroe also took a good line and stayed neck and neck.

As the finish line drew closer, Dirk Speedblood looked over, and he could see Monroe and Miles having fun, just like they used to before the black out. Everyone in the Lan Evo was smiling. Regardless of who would win the race, everyone was happy.

Suddenly, a pitch black 2007 Honda Civic came out of nowhere and rammed the side of Dirk Speedblood's red Civic. Dirk Speedblood threw his car into neutral to help him control the spin and come around safely. The Lan Evo blew past and crossed the finish line as Dirk Speedblood's Civic came to a stop and the airbag deployed.

"Who is it?" shouted Charlie, frantically trying to get a look at the driver of the black Civic. But Dirk Speedblood knew that car anywhere. The last time he had seen it, it was falling into a ravine in a mountain pass. He was sure the car had been destroyed and its driver killed. But here it was, and he recognized the driver, too.

"Charlie," Dirk Speedblood said, "That's Maxx Speedblood… My brother!"

THE END

Author's Note: It was tough putting a conclusion on everything, but I think I made it pretty exciting. This is the end of Olympic Brake though not the end of Dirk Speedblood's story. I'm planning on continuing the story when Revolution season 3 starts up, so see you all then!


End file.
